The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-27
OF INTEREST TO WOMEN.
Successful Experiment in Cooperative
Housekeeping-Bt of Society Gossip.

written for the indianapolis Journal by Eliza Put
wonder if any project that has been as anx-
iously discussed within the past ten or twenty
years has bsen rs little at heart believed in as
cooperative housekeeping. And yet have seen
this far away Utopian scheme, it seems to
most housemothers, in full operation ard run
ming, to all appearances, as smoothly as do
nestle machinery need work. in quarter whore
one would least expect the intelligence to in
augurate it or the practical sense to carry it
through New York tenementhouse.
.You see.n said the little woman who took me
into her confidence in the matter, lit came round
by accident like In the first place, used to
tend the glove counter round at is big store
on Sixth avenue. They paid me 81 week, and
though dear knows twas little enough, yet Jim
and me was savin' up to get married, you know,
and laid by full $75 after all my wedding things
was bought Jim. he conductor on the
Third-avenue road, and he had mora'n hundred
dollars. too.
"Well ev'rything went right with US till that
strike came last winter. Jim. he went out. OF
course, with the rest OF em-he wouldn't 'av
dreamt Of workin' when the leader said no-and
he amt had anything steady to do since. He's
down on the wharves handlin' freight now-had
to come to scabbin' it sooner n starve-but now
that strikes over there's no telling how long
that'll last.
1--WE came here to live so'st not to pay the
rents they asked at the other place-our money
was goin fast enough, anyhow-an' almost the
first thing began to think about was what aw-
full prices Id always been payin' for things.
DO you know everybody in this house was
buyin' just as I'd always bought, ev'rything we
ate by the half pound or the quarter pound.
When butter was thirty cents, I'd be a payin'
twelve cents for quarter pound. When lard
tvvcc Tan ant md mo CT =
half pound. Potatoes was about seventy five
cents bushel, but I'd get only two quarts at a
| time and pay ten cents for en. When had to
| have eggs, I'd buy two three, as the case was.
| sometimes only one, and they'd come bout
| double rates.
| Poor folks all do it herein the city. hardly
know one that don't If you'll go into any gro
| Gerry store yourself and stand round while
| you'll see it's just as I've been tellin' you. |
| don't know what it's for, but think it's partly
| that there's so many Germans here that never
| bought but for day at time to home, an
/ partly because we don't any OF US have much
money to spare at a time. Wy. all the coal
come into this house by the pailful or the half
| scuttle, an ton come to bout what seven tons
| ought to cost.
"Well, 8 was telling you, thought IL all
| over long time. an by n by, when my cousin
| Kate came to live in the rooms just over us
| her husband sick an workin off an on
| by spells-I proposed that we should get all our
groceries together an share up on payin' for EN-.
thing to going right away. It helped some, but
it didn't make near the difference that we d
hoped it would, for the two of US together
| couldn't make on. to pay for much at time.
| We'd try our very best to save over from one
week to another to buy lot Of sugar. though il
didn't make so much difference about that, OF
-four. or potatoes at once; and sometimes We
managed it, an of'ner We couldn't.
1--WE was just about ready to give it up in de
spair when Kate hit upon a notion of askin
some of the rest of the families to join in
There was pretty decent lot in the house-yor
don't often find as quiet place as this IN these
| parts-and jumped at the idea
| 1--WE talked it first with one then will
another. There were three or four families her
where the men worked in factories, an other
was laborers, AT some worked round tn
| wharves. | don't know but what they went int
it quicker'n richer folks might a done, cause
leastways, they had precious little to lose
| 'sThe way we got it fixed finally, we range,
to have meeting right here il my sttin room
| and choose one of women treasurer. The
| chose me first an then / went to the grocer
the best one knew of anywhere round, an go
him to promise US boardin house rates il W
paid up right prompt all the time.
Now we've got fairly going, we have ev'r
woman that wants any groceries put down he
things on paper and bring the list to me. One
q week. or sometimes twice, have the whole 10
sent round, and then ey'ry woman pays for be
share before she carries off her things. I CUES
we all of US save pretty near third, countii
coal an all, on what we used to pay.
eve amt tried it SO much meat caus
| there's nobody had time to tend up to a thin
9 | that has TO be bought every day. But we're q
ing to start in that in a little different way
Kate up stairs. she's going to get all the order
evry mornin' an have the man come to the doc
to take 'em. Then if make anything out
it, we'll give her part of what We cave for til
trouble.
Don't we quarrel over it2 Well, no. we ain
yet, but we do have troubles. One is the folk
in place like this change SO often. That don
| bother now much as it did at first though, fo
when anybody comes with idea of savi
when she gets broken into the plan she's nrett
apt to like it. an to settle down where she gt
the benefit of it. Another thing is we found
| awfully hard on the start to keep the account
right. There's where it came in handy for n
to 'av been in a store was sort of rusty
first, but make things so plain now tn;
ev'ry woman in this whole house can see at fir.
look that amt eheatin her." and the emphat
accountant picked up the sheets of brown papt
she had pasted together into good sized vouir
for her book keeping experiments, which | 81
down to study and to wonder over, while th
tale of a tenement house revolution went on
Buying things together amt quite all we'S
done, though it all started in that Thos
women what their husbands work in the factor
don't have any cookin to do 'cept at mornin' an
night, and they've been fixing things to earn
little money themselves There's six of EN- Thu
dubbed together to get woman that has
stay home-she's down on the floor below
y wash and iron for EN-. Then the four that ain
got any children too little to leave has gone in
the factory themselves; and the other two hi
% taken in taorin do. Some O. those that goes Of
IL is talking about having some one that stays hon
D do their cookin for EN- fore long. eastways &c
~ tin the dinner going at night. If Kate max
the meat buying 60 / don't know but what
le shall turn the groceries over to her-theyd Dug
~ to pay for that it takes time enough-and t
for my place back in the store again. If thu
take all the old hands back on the piers and ii
in gets thrown out shall have to do something
Mt ALT see"
tx turned the leaves of the account book 20
I'd barrel of -four So &c. fifteen pounds Of lard 81
o;cb, mound of huttar e1 81. CIV no,aa, 80 49,,
es ,att 49, 49,. 90 p - oloes
th m, ~ W.. oo's, w. WV Pase slter pas